Ferrari shipwrecked in Sepang storm

Jenson Button strengthened his command on Formula One racing while the reputation of Ferrari was washed away in the tropical rain of Malaysia.

McLaren-Mercedes also failed to leave Sepang unscathed as the sport's pecking order was turned upside again in the worst possible conditions, but everyone at least agreed that officials had no alternative but to abandon Sunday's race in the 33rd of 56 planned laps when the downpour made driving impossible and darkness then didn't allow a restart.

"It wasn't a river, it was a lake," said Button. "We were going around at running pace, it was that slow. It was embarrassing. The safety car was pulling away from us."

Second-place finisher Nick Heidfeld agreed: "On the radio the team said to just follow the safety car. I laughed and said, 'I wish I could go that fast.'" 

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was at the centre of the storm for pushing a 17h00 (09h00 GMT) start time to suit European viewers. Thunderstorms raged during the build-up to the race four days in a row and there was no cushion for possible delays due to darkness.

"Everyone had predicted the storm, with the exception of the FIA," said Spanish sports daily Marca on Monday while Sepang race track boss Mokhzani Mahathir said that he and Ecclestone would look into the start time issue.

Button, meanwhile, did everything right on the track and in the pit lane with his high-flying Brawn team to add victory in Malaysia to that from the season-opening Australia race last week.

"Admiral Jenson Button sailed to his second successive victory," said Britain's Daily Express on Monday as the former Honda team and its current top driver continued to impress.

Button won from the German duo of Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Timo Glock (Toyota) while a seventh-place finish from world champion Lewis Hamilton was the only points placing for the heavyweights of McLaren and Ferrari.

McLaren's reputation was dented in Malaysia over Hamilton's disqualification from the Australia race for misleading race stewards along with sports director Dave Ryan who was suspended on Friday.

Ferrari, meanwhile, are shipwrecked on zero points from two races and became the laughing stock when former world champion Kimi Räikkönen pitted early to get rain tyres, which were then completely worn off when the downpour finally started in earnest.

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali promised a thorough review of what went wrong, which could also affect the team's most prominent advisor, the seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who was on the Ferrari bridge on Sunday.

"Another disaster for Ferrari: Zero points! Mistakes, problems and bad luck. Schumacher - a ghost. There is a ghost in Maranello. And it speaks German. Did Schumi decide the strategy?" asked Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

However, the crazy F1 season could take another twist ahead of the next race on 19 April in China when the FIA rules whether diffusers used by Brawn, Williams and Toyota are legal or not, with four teams protesting against the use of the aerodynamic device.